Typical American Leaves as much as $100,000 or More in Lifetime
Benefits on the Table; Married Couples Can Miss Out on as much as
$250,000 or More

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 11, 2014--
Do you think you have Social Security all figured out? You might want to
double check, according to a new Financial Engines (NASDAQ: FNGN) study
of more than 1,000 retirees and near-retirees between the ages of 55 and
70.

Financial Engines, America’s largest defined contribution managed
account provider, found that many retirees and near-retirees are simply
unaware of their Social Security claiming options. And this lack of
knowledge means they could be leaving significant money on the table –
to the tune of as much as $100,000 or more for individuals and $250,000
or more for married couples.

“Social Security provides half to three-quarters of retirement income
for most Americans1 so the importance of getting the most
from this benefit cannot be overstated,” said Christopher Jones,
Financial Engines’ Chief Investment Officer. “There are more than 8,000
strategies for a married couple to claim Social Security, making it one
of the most complex and confusing, yet critically important, retirement
decisions people have to make. Our study clearly shows that this
decision is more difficult than most people believe.”

As part of the study, Financial Engines asked people eight questions
about claiming Social Security benefits. The quiz is now available on Financial
Engines’ website so anyone can test their Social Security knowledge
and get more information. In the Financial Engines survey, 73 percent of
people who are not yet receiving Social Security scored a grade of “C”
or lower” on the quiz. The people with the fewest assets had the least
awareness about how Social Security works. Only five percent of
respondents were able to answer all eight questions correctly.

The study found that retirees and near-retirees are over-confident in
their ability to make good Social Security claiming decisions. Despite
the mixed performance on the quiz, three-quarters of people (77 percent)
who have not yet claimed Social Security benefits felt confident in
their ability to make a good decision.

A Little Guidance Goes a Long Way

The bright spot in the Financial Engines study is that people made
better Social Security claiming decisions with some helpful guidance
about their options.

More than half of respondents (52 percent) who have not yet claimed
Social Security were influenced to consider delaying claiming after
reading a simple explanation about how benefits vary with different
claiming ages. Importantly, the median age respondents planned to claim
increased one year (from age 65 to age 66) after watching a short video
illustration. 20 percent of study participants said they would be
willing to wait four or more years longer.

Explaining the impact that delayed claiming has on a surviving spouse’s
benefit also made 44 percent of those who have yet to claim Social
Security consider claiming at a later date.

“Many people just assume that you claim Social Security starting the day
you retire and that there is no need to consider Social Security
claiming strategies,” Jones said. “The reality is that the decision of
when to claim Social Security is one of the most important decisions in
retirement planning. Delaying Social Security even one or two years can
make a big difference in household retirement income, and especially for
the surviving spouse. There are few financial planning decisions that
can have such a dramatic impact on the standard of living in retirement.”

Near Retirees and Retirees Want Social Security Claiming Help

In addition to identifying some costly knowledge gaps, the study found
high interest in getting help with selecting the right household Social
Security claiming strategy. Near retirees and retirees are receptive to
their employers providing access to that assistance.

Seven in 10 near-retirees (69 percent) who have not yet claimed Social
Security said that they would be at least somewhat interested in a
service provided by their employer to help them develop a household
claiming strategy. Of these, 39 percent said that they would be
extremely or very interested in this type of Social Security claiming
help.

Greenwald & Associates conducted the research on behalf of Financial
Engines. Information for this study was gathered through a 15-minute
online survey with 1,008 near-retirees and retirees between the ages of
55 and 70 who have an annual household income of at least $50,000. The
survey included 374 people who have already claimed their Social
Security retirement benefits (median age of 65) and 634 people who have
not (median age of 59). In determining the survey findings, responses
were weighted by the respondent’s age, gender and education to reflect
the composition of the U.S. population ages 55-70.

About Financial Engines: (NASDAQ: FNGN)

Financial Engines, America’s largest defined contribution managed
account provider, is dedicated to making high-quality retirement help
available to everyone — regardless of how much money they have. We’re
proudly independent, which means we don’t sell products or earn
commissions based on our investment recommendations. The companies that
choose to work with us offer our services to their workers as a valuable
employee benefit.

Co-founded in 1996 by Nobel Prize-winning economist Bill Sharpe,
Financial Engines currently offers personalized advice for saving,
investing and living in retirement to millions of workers nationwide.
Our strong ties with employers give us a unique opportunity to form
direct relationships with their employees.

Some people love the challenge of investing. Others prefer to focus
their time elsewhere, but everyone needs to plan for retirement.
Whatever their interest level in investing, Financial Engines combines
cutting-edge technology and a personal, human touch to help all types of
investors reach their retirement goals. For more information, visit www.financialengines.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those
related to employers’ interest in helping employees and the growth of
our business, which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, demand for and perceived benefits of
our services, our ability to successfully deliver our services or to
deliver them as designed, our relationships with plan sponsors, our
ability to compete, our regulatory environment, and other risks,
uncertainties and factors contained in our SEC filings. You are
cautioned not to unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date of this press release. Unless required by law,
Financial Engines undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any
forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the
date of this press release or to report the occurrence of unanticipated
events.